Latch and lock



June 20, 1939. H T 2,163,307

LATCH AND LOCK Filed Feb. 12, 1937 2 She ets-Sheet 1 i 50 glwuc olon 0 STANLEY HART June 20; 1939. s. HART LATCH AND LOCK Filed Feb. 12, 1937 m 5i A! 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4

STANLEY/254R?" Patented June 20, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LATCH AND' LocK Application February 12, 1937, Serial No. 125,372

8 Claims.

the doors of sheet metal lockers and wherein the.

parts provide a simple, durable construction easy to manufacture and install and effective in operation,

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved door latching and locking mechanism having a latch bar adapted to automatically move to latching position when the door is swung into closed position and a lock adapted, when locked, to prevent unlatching of the door; the arrangement being such that the lock may be locked while the door is in open position, and,

thereafter, when the door is closed, the latch bar automatically drops into latched position without further action on the part of the operator.

It is a still further object to provide a latching mechanism for a sheet metal door which is enclosed and guarded in such manner that the mechanism may only be operated by a handle projecting through the door and the door may not be forced or pried open by insertion of a tool between the edge of the door and the door casing.

With these and other objects in view, my invention resides in the unique construction and the combination of members hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and referred to in the claims appended hereto; it being understood, of course, that various changes in the general form, proportion, and size, as well as other minor details of construction lying within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

In the drawings, wherein like parts are indicated by like numerals:

Figure 1 is a sectional View taken longitudinally and in side elevation through my latching and locking mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal fragmentary section through my invention taken substantially along the lines 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 isa cross section through my mechanism taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. l and showing the door in unlatched position;

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken along the lines 4-4 of Fig. 1 and showing the door in latched position; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the positionsof the various parts just prior to latching of the door,

In accordance with the present invention, I have provided a simple and easily constructed ,door latching and locking mechanism generally composed of a plurality of slidably nested channels and adapted to reinforce the edge of a door such as a steel locker door Ill. A control handle ll vertically slides a latch bar I2 out of latched engagement with a keeper 13 secured to the door casing M of a locker such as a steel locker I5. A leaf spring l6, engageable with the latch bar, serves to support it in a re-latching position while the door is open and in such manner that upon closing the door the latch bar automatically drops into keeper engagement. I further provide one or more locking mechanisms, such, for example, as a padlock I1 and a key-lock l8, for securing the handle against operative movement, thus preventing actuation of the latch bar through the handle. Associated with the handle and forming an operative connection between the handle and the latch bar is a slide [9 which permits locking of the handle against movement irrespective of the position of the locking bar so that, if desired, the mechanism may be initially locked while the door is open, and thereafter when the door is closed, it will automatically latch into a locked position without any further action on the part of the user.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention, the latch mechanism is mounted within a vertically extending guide channel 20 suitably formed from sheet metal and having a front wall 20, substantially parallel side walls 2| and 22, and spaced rear walls 23. Door H] has rearwardly extending reinforcing flanges l0 and I0" respectively located at its side and top and bottom edges, Channel member 20, which is of such length that it fits between flanges l0" and against flange I0, is preferably rigidly secured in position by spot welding or other suitable means so that the door is reinforced adjacent its swinging edge.

The keeper l3, which is herein illustrated as a rigid metal strip bent to form, has an arm 24 suitably fastened to casing 14, as by Welding. A rearwardly extending arm 25 connects with arm 24 adjacent the edge of the casing, and a short arm 26 interconnects a keeper arm 21 in substantially parallel spaced relation to arm 25, as shown in Fig. 3. The forward end of arm 21 terminates in an upwardly projecting rounded nose 28 and is provided with a transversely extending somewhat V-shaped slot 28 adapted to receive the latch bar l2 which is vertically movable into and out of latched position. The latch bar I2 is in the form of a channel in reversed relation to and vertically slidable within channel 20 and having a rear wall 32 interconiicting substantially parallel opposed side walls 34 and 35, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. If desired, a suitable shock absorbing pad 38 may be mounted in the lower end of channel 20 to support the latch bar in bottom position and prevent the keeper from receiving the downward impact of this bar. Rear wall 32 has a slot 36 to receive the nose portion 28 of the keeper when the door mounted for vertical movement in the latch bar I2 and provided with a front wall 4| and side.

walls 42 and 43. Front wall 4| is fastened to the rearward ends of bosses 38 as by screws 44 so that vertical slidable movement of the handle 7 will result in a similar movement of the slide l9 and lift it from the keeper.

To operatively connect slide IS with latch bar I2, side walls 34 and 35 are providedlnear their upper ends with inwardly extending lugs 34 and 35 formed by portions struck out from the walls and adapted to be engaged on their under sides by the top of slide l9. When handle II is slid upwardly, the top of slide l9, engages these lugs. and lifts latch bar, l2 to the dot-dash position l2 (Fig. 1) at which point the top of slot 36 is located above the upper end of nose 28 and wall 32 is out of keeper engagement so that pulling outwardly upon the handle at this time will serve to open the door. It will be understood, of course, that slot 36 is of such length that the bottom thereof always lies below the, plane of the bottom of the keeper arm 21. The latch bar is resiliently urged downwardly towards a latched position by a coiled spring 45 tensioned between a bent-over portion 46 at the a top of wall 32 and a lug 41 struck out from the upper end of wall 20. I I

During the door opening movement, latch bar I2 is supported in a raised relatching position and held out of engagement with the slide member l9 until the door is again closed, at which time the latch bar automatically drops into latching position. To accomplish this, spring I6 is mounted at its lower end l6 as by screws on a rearwardly projecting lug struck outfrom wall 20' adjacent to the upper end of the handle. The upper end of spring I6 is bent rearwardly towards wall 32, as at l6, and normally tends to move into contact withwall 32 and engage beneath an inwardly projecting stop lug |2" struck out from wall 32 and support the latch bar in the relatching position when the door is open, as shown in Fig. 5. Wall 4| is provided with a vertically extending slot 49 receiving lug 48 and spring portion l6 so that slide |9 may be vertically moved with respect to the door.

When the door is closed, nose 28 passes through slot 36 and engages an intermediate portion of the spring, deflecting the spring from engagement with lug I2 and out of the latch supporting position of Fig. 5 to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, thus permitting the latch bar l2 to drop into latched position within keeper l3. When the door is again opened, the upward movement of the handle engages member IS with lugs 34' and 35 to lift the latch bar out of latching engagement, and as the door is swung outwardly, nose 28 disengages from spring I6 so that the spring automatically shifts into the latch bar supporting position of Fig. 5.

It will be noted that when the operator lets go of the handle after opening the door, the handle and slide l9 will again drop to their bottom positions and out of latch bar engagement while the latch bar will be maintained in its relatching position. The handle may be locked in this bottom inoperative position at any time when the door is open, and the door may thereafter be swung shut and latched in locked position without operative movement of the handle. To accomplish this, an outwardly projecting, substantially U-shaped member 50 is secured at its free ends as by riveting, welding, or other suitable means, to wall 20' and projects through a slot in the door l0 so that it may overlie the depending lower end ll of the handle in straddling relation when the handle is in its bottom position, as illustrated in Fig. 1. When the handle is in this bottom position, mating holes 50', through members'50 and II, may receive the bale of the padlock H and prevent upward movement of the handle to unlock the door.

I have also illustrated a conventional type of door, lock 8 secured to'the inside of the door III in a suitable manner, as by rivets, and adjacent to the side wall 22 of channel 20. This lock may be provided with a suitably actuated locking bolt I8 arranged to be received within adjacent slots 22', 35", and 43' in the respective adjacent walls 22, 35, and 43 of the interfitting channels 20, I2, and I9. Slot 43 within slide member I9 is of such size as to receive bolt I8 and prevent upward movement of slide l9 and handle ll. Slot 35' within the side of the latch bar is of considerably greater extent than the height of the bolt received therebetween so that the vertical slidable movement of the latch bar is not restricted by lock l8, and disengagement of spring Hi from operative position upon closure of the door will permit the latch bar to drop to latched position. Since member I9 and handle II are prevented from upward movement by lock bolt l8 at this time, it will be appreciated that the door will remain in locked position until such time as the latch bolt is withdrawn from locked position.

I have also provided an additional safety feature which prevents upward slidable movement of latch bar |2 except under control of handle A depending leaf spring 5| within the nested channels is fastened at its upper end by lower screw 44 and has a rearwardly bent lower .end tending to resiliently engage wall 32. Wall 32 adjacent the lower end of spring 5| is provided with an inwardly projecting stop lug 52 hooked beneath spring 5| when the latch is in locked position and as shown in full lines in Fig. 1. It will be appreciated that, while spring 5| is in this position, it will prevent any attempt to lift latch bar 12 upwardly to an unlatching position. A

guide member 53, secured to wall 20 intermediate of the ends of spring 5!, has opposed arms overlying the spring so positioned that upon raising of handle I! to lift the slide l9 and latch bar, I2 vertically the rearwardly extending portion of the spring 5| will be brought into engagement with the overlying arms and deflected out of engagement with the lug 52. When the latch bar drops into latched position within the keeper, downward movement of lug 52 will cause it to spring by the lower end of spring 5! so that the spring will again be in operative position. It will thus be evident that no tool can be inserted at the top or bottom of the door to lift the latch bar independently of the handle movement. Furthermore, it will be appreciated the locker door cannot be pried open by the insertion of a tool between the door and its casing, since the nose 2B of the keeper extends within and is substantially surrounded by the latch mechanism.

I claim as my invention:

1. A latch and lock for a door comprising a keeper in the path of door movement, a vertically disposed channel secured to the door and adapted to receive a portion of the keeper when the door is closed, a reverse channel latch bar vertically slidable in said channel and into and out of latched engagement with the keeper, a handle slidably mounted on the door, a channel slide secured to the handle and movable in and operatively engageable with the latch bar to lift it out of latched position, a resilient member engageable with the latch bar and adapted to support it in a lifted re-latching position when the door is open and to disengage from the latch bar and permit it to fall to a latched position when the door is closed, and means to lock the handle against movement relative to the door.

2. In combination with a door arranged for opening and closing movement, a latch bar mounted for vertical slidable movement on the door and automatically movable into a latched position when the door is closed, a handle movably mounted on the door, a slide connection between the handle and the latch bar to disengage the latch bar upon operative handle movement, a spring engageable between the handle and latch bar preventing an unlatching movement of the door except under control of operative handle movement, and means engageable with the spring to disengage it from the latch bar during operative handle movement.

3. In combination with a door, a latch bar supported for vertical reciprocation on the door into and out of latched position, a handle movably mounted on the door and arranged to lift the latch bar to an unlatched position, means automatically engaging and supporting the latch bar in its lifted position when the door is open and disengaging from the latch bar and permitting it to drop to a latched position when the door is closed, resilient means engageable between the handle and the latch bar preventing an unlatching movement of said bar except under influence of operative handle movement, and means to lock the handle in an inoperative position so that it may be initially locked while the door is open and the door may thereafter be closed to automatically latch.

4. In combination with a door, a keeper in the path of door movement, a vertical guide channel secured to the door, a latch bar vertically slidable within the guide member and into and out of latching engagement with the keeper, a handle slidably mounted on the door and operatively connected to lift the latch bar to an unlatched position, resilient means to support the latch bar in its unlatched position when the door is open, a spring resiliently engageable between the handle and thelatch bar when said bar is in a latched position to prevent unlatching movement of said bar except through the handle movement, means disengaging said spring from the latch bar when the handle lifts the latch bar to an unlatched position, and a locking mechanism securing the handle in an inoperative position whereby the door may be pushed shut and will automatically latch and lock.

5. In combination with a door arranged for opening and closing movement, a door casing, a vertically disposed latch bar slidably mounted inside the door and adapted to be moved into latched and unlatched position, a handle slidably mounted on the outside of said door, operative connections between said handle and said latch bar, a spring for normally holding said latch bar in latched position, a second spring adapted to hold said latch bar in unlatched position when moved thereto, and means operative upon movement of the handle for releasing said first spring to permit movement of the latch bar into a position to be held by said second spring, and means carried by said casing and operative upon closing of the door for releasing said second spring to permit movement of the latch bar into a position to be held by said first spring.

6. In combination with a door arranged for opening and closing movement,a latchbar mounted for vertical slidable movement on the door and automatically movable into a latched position when the door is closed and having upper and lower stop members, a handle movably mounted on the door, a slide connection between the handle and latch bar to disengage the latch bar upon operative handle movement, a spring engageable between the handle and the lower stop member of said latch bar for preventing an unlatching movement of the door except under control of said operative handle movement, means engageable with the spring todisengage it from the latch bar during operative handle movement, and a second spring positioned between the handle and the upper stop member of the latch bar and adapted when said latch bar is raised to automatically engage said top stop member.

7. In combination with a door arranged for opening and closing movement, a keeper in the path of the door movement, a latch bar mounted for vertical slidable movement on the door and automatically movable into a latched position when the door is closed, said latch bar having an opening therein, and a pair of spaced stop members, one located above said opening and one located below said opening, a handle movably mounted on the door, a slide connection between the handle and latch bar to disengage the latch bar upon operative handle movement, a spring engageable between the handle and the lower stop member of said latch bar for preventing an unlatching movement of the door except under control of said operative handle movement, means engageable with the spring to disengage it from the latch bar during operative handle movement, and a second spring positioned between the handle and the upper stop member and adapted when said latch bar is raised to automatically engage said upper stop member, said keeper moving said second spring out of engagement with said stop member when the door is closed.

8. In combination With a door, a keeper in the path of door movement, a U-shaped guide member having its base secured to the rear face of the door adjacent the swinging edge thereof, a U-shaped latch bar slidably positioned in said member with its base closing the opening of said guide member, said latch bar having an opening adapted to receive said keeper, and a pair of spaced stop members, one above said opening and the other below said opening, a handle slidably mounted on the door, a slide member secured to the handle and engageable with the latch bar to lift it out of latched position, a spring having one end secured to the base 

